Superman | July 11, 2025 | James Gunn writing and directing | David Corenswet is Clark, Rachel Brosnahan is Lois

[ZattMurdock]

Also, please, please, please, no silly trunks, please. Also we don’t need them in the comics either. Batman and Captain America dropped them, there isn’t a good reason for Supes to keep them. Yeah it was supposed to work as a response to the backlash against a ‘modern’ Snyder’s Super or whatever but he truly doesn’t need the trunks.

 

Evolution is cool, fam.

 

Can anyone really imagine Chris Evans wearing trunks over his pants:

 

 

 

Little known fact: Captain America stopped using trunks over his pants a little before the MCU films, btw. This cover is from 1998:

 

 

 

And I love Chip Zdarsky to death but come on now:

https://www.cbr.com/batman-ridiculous-trunks-saved-life-dc/

 

Neither of these characters need trunks to feel ‘classic’, trust me on this.

 

 

[Human]

If he does not have trunks then at least do not replace them with more blue.  That is too much one color.  Makes all his legs be red.

[ZattMurdock]

1 hour ago, Human said:

If he does not have trunks then at least do not replace them with more blue.  That is too much one color.  Makes all his legs be red.

That I agree with, he needs a new color scheme that represents the trunks without being actual trunks. 
 

Actual impressive fan art, but I agree it needs a red color scheme to represent the trunks on the color scheme:

 

Rebirth Supes costume has the right idea for it, but I’m sure that Gunn’s costume team will pull it off:

 

 

[excel1]

It is 2023. No trunks. Be serious. 

[ZattMurdock]

Just now, excel1 said:

It is 2023. No trunks. Be serious. 

 

I understand wanting a more classical approach to Superman. That’s precisely what I want too. But if Marvel Studios successfully made Captain America with that classic man out of time feeling without the trunks, it won’t be having the trunks outside his pants that will achieve that. And I say this loving the shit out of John Byrne’s Man of Steel and post-Crisis Superman. We don’t need to retrocede in stuff like that. I’m baffled to find out that current comics even Batman is using trunks again, and while I love Chip Zdarsky and his latest Daredevil run is nothing short of legendary, bringing back trunks to superhero comics just ain’t it. It’s nostalgia porn for something that just doesn’t make sense with modern sensibilities.

 

Let the trunks on Superman and Lois cartoon, there it’s fine. But not in live action.

[Arlborn]

49 minutes ago, ZattMurdock said:

That I agree with, he needs a new color scheme that represents the trunks without being actual trunks. 
 

Actual impressive fan art, but I agree it needs a red color scheme to represent the trunks on the color scheme:

 

Rebirth Supes costume has the right idea for it, but I’m sure that Gunn’s costume team will pull it off:

 

 

No trunks, but a nice big red and golden belt for contrast, so simple.

[robertman2]

warworld suit or bust

[Human]

Is this a bad time to say I strongly dislike the Rebirth Supes look?

[21C]

You know I am actually extremely curious as to how this movie will perform in opening weekend the more and more I think about it.

One would normally look at current trends of superhero movies and DC movies and think "70-90 million maybe" but I've noticed that there is a strong, strong correlation between fan excitement and opening weekends.

The DC fanbase was barely excited over Shazam 2, and Blue Beetle, therefore those films flopped. With The Flash they were very mixed and I distinctly remember a very large segment of the fanbase getting more and more turned off with The Flash with every trailer even tho there was a segment of Keaton fanboys that tried to keep hype afloat. On the other hand, DC fans were really excited about The Batman and that opened really big.

Likewise with Marvel. People were really excited over Dr. Strange 2 and that opened gigantic, same with Black Panther, and even Thor 4, meanwhile they don't care about The Marvels and that's about to flop. 

Typically I'd say "just listen to the fans" is bad advice since fans don't constitute the majority etc but there seems to be a real correlation here. And I'd say that since The Batman, Superman: Legacy is the most excited I've seen the DC fanbase over anything. Hell, James Gunn being in charge in general, since a year ago when he got crowned head of DC I remember that was extremely well received and even trended.

Completely anecdotal but just look at the posts when Corenswet was announced, 100K and 220K twitter likes. 
 

 

 

 

[Bob Train]

5 hours ago, 21C said:

You know I am actually extremely curious as to how this movie will perform in opening weekend the more and more I think about it.

One would normally look at current trends of superhero movies and DC movies and think "70-90 million maybe" but I've noticed that there is a strong, strong correlation between fan excitement and opening weekends.

The DC fanbase was barely excited over Shazam 2, and Blue Beetle, therefore those films flopped. With The Flash they were very mixed and I distinctly remember a very large segment of the fanbase getting more and more turned off with The Flash with every trailer even tho there was a segment of Keaton fanboys that tried to keep hype afloat. On the other hand, DC fans were really excited about The Batman and that opened really big.

Likewise with Marvel. People were really excited over Dr. Strange 2 and that opened gigantic, same with Black Panther, and even Thor 4, meanwhile they don't care about The Marvels and that's about to flop. 

Typically I'd say "just listen to the fans" is bad advice since fans don't constitute the majority etc but there seems to be a real correlation here. And I'd say that since The Batman, Superman: Legacy is the most excited I've seen the DC fanbase over anything. Hell, James Gunn being in charge in general, since a year ago when he got crowned head of DC I remember that was extremely well received and even trended.

Completely anecdotal but just look at the posts when Corenswet was announced, 100K and 220K twitter likes. 
 

 

 

 

Honestly, The Batman numbers sounds right to me assuming that 

 

1) It is well received by both critics and audiences

 

2) it has unique style (like The Batman), and doesn't look derivative, basically differentiating itself from other CBMs

 

I do not believe that the audiences of today don't care about Superman, it is just that he has starred in crap movies created by people who do not understand the character in the slightest. Even still, BvS and MoS were not that long ago and both opened huge. 

 

 

[Macleod]

On 10/29/2023 at 9:47 PM, Bob Train said:

I do not believe that the audiences of today don't care about Superman, it is just that he has starred in crap movies created by people who do not understand the character in the slightest. Even still, BvS and MoS were not that long ago and both opened huge. 

 

 

 

Based on its historic premise and what they spent on it, BvS really should have opened to at least twice of what it did.  And of course it should have performed better and not cratered even in its opening weekend...but its reception was dire...let's not roll down that road again...

[WittyUsername]

Just now, Macleod said:

 

Based on its historic premise and what they spent on it, BvS really should have opened to at least twice of what it did. 

It should’ve opened to over $330 million? Why? 

[JWR]

On 10/29/2023 at 9:47 PM, Bob Train said:

Honestly, The Batman numbers sounds right to me assuming that 

 

1) It is well received by both critics and audiences

 

2) it has unique style (like The Batman), and doesn't look derivative, basically differentiating itself from other CBMs

 

I do not believe that the audiences of today don't care about Superman, it is just that he has starred in crap movies created by people who do not understand the character in the slightest. Even still, BvS and MoS were not that long ago and both opened huge. 

 

 

 

People didn't care about Captain America prior to 2011 (or 2014 if you want to stretch it). I sincerely believe that one really good movie (non-controversial) would do wonders for the public perception of Superman. 

[Spidey Freak]

My Adventures With Superman breaking out shows that Superman can play very well with the younger set. And that show was saddled with a meh timeslot on Adult Swim.

[excel1]

Superman is beyond overdue for a modern reinvention. It can the traditional tone and story, but it must be presented in a modern way. This more than anything is why MOS broke out as much as its did on opening weekend just as SR flopped on opening weekend. No red trunks, give him bright colors and a tan, let him smile, and give it epic action.

 

A strong trailer or 2 and high RT score would 100% do wonders for this character, but there will be an initial wave of skepticism towards the project until then.

Edited November 1, 2023 by excel1

[Napoleon]

13 hours ago, Macleod said:

 

Based on its historic premise and what they spent on it, BvS really should have opened to at least twice of what it did.  And of course it should have performed better and not cratered even in its opening weekend...but its reception was dire...let's not roll down that road again...

It didn't have an astronomical budget. It was reported at $250m (less than Superman Returns) but Snyder once said that it actually ended up costing less than Man Of Steel. And it's still the highest opening ever for a DC film to this day, there's no evidence that it could have opened to more than that because no other DC movie ever proved that it can be done.

[WittyUsername]

7 hours ago, Spidey Freak said:

My Adventures With Superman breaking out shows that Superman can play very well with the younger set. And that show was saddled with a meh timeslot on Adult Swim.

What does it even mean for a television show to “break out” at this point? 

[PlatnumRoyce]

1 minute ago, WittyUsername said:

What does it even mean for a television show to “break out” at this point? 

Some sort of viewership relative to baseline. If it made a Nielsen top 10 list in the acquired category, that would probably qualify given how much smaller Max is than Netflix. I don't think it did and it looks like it's never been mentioned on streaming tracking thread.

 

I'm pretty sure ESG's newsletter publishes Plumb(?)'s Showlabs data for streamer specific rankings for shows that don't hit Nielsen streaming lists.  Probably did well but degree of success is exaggerated in online discussion.

[Spidey Freak]

44 minutes ago, WittyUsername said:

What does it even mean for a television show to “break out” at this point? 

 

Quote

My Adventures with Superman made its premiere over the Spring and Summer months with Adult Swim, and it has been a massive hit for the network leading into the second season! Warner Bros. Discovery recently outlined its ratings successes for the year so far in a new press release, and for Adult Swim noted that My Adventures with Superman "ranked #1 in its timeslot among Men 18-34 and is the #2 highest-rated original freshman series for the network this year among Adults 18-49 and 18-34 and among Men 18-49 and 18-34."

[ZattMurdock]

18 hours ago, Spidey Freak said:

My Adventures With Superman breaking out shows that Superman can play very well with the younger set. And that show was saddled with a meh timeslot on Adult Swim.

My Adventures with Superman is the best Superman anything for me since Mark Waid’s Birthright. I’m not even sure if this wasn’t two decades ago. So yeah, don’t sleep on this if you like Superman.